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Start the New Year Off Right: Resolve to Raise a Reader!

Many New Year's resolutions focus on developing healthy habits. Here's one that is important to make and keep: provide a regular diet of books and reading for your preschooler. Try this menu of reading activities.

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Many New Year's resolutions focus on developing healthy habits. Here's one that is important to make and keep: provide a regular diet of books and reading for your preschooler.

You feed and care for your child every day so that he will grow into a healthy, happy preschooler. Similarly, you also need to provide experiences that will enhance language development and stimulate learning skills. Try this menu of reading activities:

Read every day

A daily reading routine will give all the readers in your family a chance to read with your preschooler. Dads, moms, siblings, caregivers, and friends can all be a part of ensuring your preschooler gets 20 minutes of being read to each day.

Do things, and then talk about it

It's great to offer new experiences to your preschooler, such as a visit to the zoo or museum, but a trip to the grocery store or a neighborhood park can be just as educational. Talk about what you are seeing and ask your preschooler what he thinks of it. When possible, use interesting words to describe what you're seeing.

Read every where you go

You can find reading on the road, at the bus stop, in the store, and at the restaurant. Play a game to find words when you are out and about or take a look at home for words on everyday items like cereal boxes, toothpaste, and household appliances.

Be a reading role model

Your child wants to imitate you and be like you. Have plenty of reading material for yourself as well as for your child. Tell your child how much you enjoy reading.

Keep your pulse on progress

Please be sure to see your child's pediatrician or teacher as soon as possible if you have concerns about your child's language development, hearing, or sight.

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What great advice! Thank you for having this article available in Word and PDF form, along with a Spanish translation. This should make it easier for teachers and doctors to share with parents.I also want to share a great tip from Jim Trelease: read to your children while they do the dishes (or any other chore). Not only does this help build world knowledge and vocabulary size (so important to a child's overall academic success), but it is also a great way to bond with a child, promote a love of reading, and get the chores done. :)